EBay plans to offload Skype, as the company has been unable to cash in on the popular VoIP service

EBay yesterday confirmed it has sold
most of Skype to a group of investors for $1.9 billion. The investors
now own 65 percent of the company best known for its VoIP service,
with the following financial breakdown: $1.9 billion cash, 35%
equity investment and $125 million bond -- ends up being just a bit
less than the $3.1 billion eBay paid four years ago.

"Selling
Skype now at this great valuation, while retaining an equity stake,
makes
sense for the company," said eBay CEO John Donahoe, said in
a press statement. "And it allows us to focus all of our
energies on the opportunities in front of PayPal and eBay."

EBay
will be able to use the money made from the deal for future
acquisitions to strengthen its core auction business. After
successfully beating out Google and Yahoo for the right to purchase
Skype, eBay has been unable to integrate its VoIP services into
eBay.

There were several rumors the past couple of weeks that
an investor group would purchase Skype, but the deal wasn't confirmed
until today. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, private
equity firm Silver Lake Partners, venture capital firm Index Venture
and Canada pension Plan Investment Board are several of the investors
involved in the purchase.

Analysts are unsure if Skype will be
able to grow as an independent company, but the investor groups will
likely keep a tight control of the company.

"We basically took a look at this situation and said, this is bullshit." -- Newegg Chief Legal Officer Lee Cheng's take on patent troll Soverain